Starting this academic year, Stevens has been home to new communities of students with shared aspects of identity or common interests. These Living Learning Communities (LLCs), a part of Stevens housing, have the goal of fostering camaraderie and support systems for first-year students.
One such LLC is Women in Math, Science, and Engineering, or “WiMSE,” for first-year women-identifying and non-binary students. According to Stevens’ website, WiMSE “offers its residents faculty interaction, academic support, and an inclusive, welcoming community with other students in STEM.”
Even as early as move-in, residents of WiMSE felt excited about being a part of this LLC. Resident Mollie Good had known about the concept of an LLC before moving in, and her particular excitement was for the chance to live “alongside such smart and motivating girls.” Kai Raiola, another resident, saw it as an “ideal opportunity to meet people that I would more than likely encounter and learn from throughout my time here.”
Good and Raiola also expressed their positive first impression of senior Christine Huang, the Residential Assistant (RA) of WiMSE. “Amazing, helpful, respectful, and very friendly” were words used to describe Huang. Meanwhile, as WiMSE’s first RA, Huang expressed her excitement to have “a lot of flexibility in what events or programs I’m able to organize.” Huang also clearly cares deeply about making her residents feel at home, designing the bulletins and decorations, and even making WiMSE t-shirts.
Since then, WiMSE has provided a solid network of friendship and support among its residents. Raiola notes the ease of building connections with such a tight-knit group, now located on half a floor of Davis Hall. To her, this aspect helped her to quickly form friendships and study groups, while also feeling a connection to a similar and longer-standing LLC, the Lore-El Center. “I think that really enforces the community feel, knowing that we’re a part of something bigger yet so intimate,” Raiola says. Huang helped reinforce this connection by promoting events hosted by Lore-El
Both Good and Raiola agreed that seeing Wicked on Broadway with their fellow residents stood out as a memorable LLC experience. For Good, “It was so much fun to travel with everyone, and see such an amazing show.” Meanwhile, Raiola, also a participant in last semester’s SDS production, enjoyed getting to share her love of theatre with her floormates. In her words: “Sharing something I care about so deeply with folks I rather quite like made that night get special.”
The Wicked trip was a memorable learning experience for Huang. She writes, “I had never planned an event of that scale, so I learned a lot from that!” Huang also mentioned the other events she’s planned for her residents, including a Paint Night, and those planned in collaboration with Lore-El RA Maddie McIntosh, such as Cupcake Decorating, a Self-Care Workshop, and an upcoming Valentine’s Day event.
While there are still a few months left of their first year, WiMSE has already offered many learning experiences for its residents. Raiola describes that the personalities of each of its residents make this LLC unique and stronger. “What makes us WiMSE?” she asks rhetorically, then answers, “I don’t think it’s the name, but the unspoken sense of bonding throughout.” This has provided her with a “new way of thinking about what it means to be a part of something.” Good noted that WiMSE not only led her to meet “some of my first and best friends at Stevens,” but moreover gave her the skills “to persevere and power through anything that might go wrong.”
Stevens plans to continue with the LLC program, expanding it in the coming years to encompass more groups, and even offering a build-it-yourself type community for Stevens students themselves to create. For WiMSE in particular though, Good and Raiola offered advice for future residents to stay open-minded and ready to connect with people. Raiola encourages new WiMSE students “to let down their walls,” which Good echoes by advising them to “be willing to make a bunch of new connections.”
As an RA, Huang also describes what she has learned and what she hopes for in LLCs going forward. Being an RA for the past few years, she notes that “I always learn from my residents and their experiences too, and have loved being able to form close connections with them!” The WiMSE experiences have helped her learn more about event coordinating and collaborating with faculty as well. She concludes by saying, “LLCs have a great potential to positively impact students’ experiences at Stevens and I hope to see that potential come to life.”
